The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for the maintenance of redundant postage accounting datafiles. More specifically, the present invention allows the maintenance of postage accounting data both in a secure metering device (SMD) and in a general purpose computer (GPC).
Historically, postage meters have been dedicated, stand-alone devices, capable only of printing postage indicia on envelopes or labels (in the case of parcels), and resided at a user's site. As such, these devices could provide postage metering only for that particular site and required the user to physically transport the device to a post office for resetting (increasing the amount of postage contained in the meter). These were secure devices which contained mechanical (later, electronic) accounting registers that dispensed postage in isolation from other systems. An advance over these systems was the ability to reset a meter via codes communicated to the user. These codes were provided by either the manufacturer or the postal authority, once the customer had made payment.
In contrast, modern electronic meters are often capable of being reset directly by an authorized party, on-site (at the user's location) via a communications link. A system which performs meter resetting in this manner is known as a Computerized Meter Resetting System (or "CMRS"). The party having authority to reset the meter and charge the customer (usually the manufacturer or the postal authority) thus gains access to, and resets the meter.
Mail accounting data may be accumulated and read from the more sophisticated electronic meters which have recently become available. Such meters can record expenditure information automatically and can issue periodic accounting reports of postage purchased. These reports may even provide detailed accounting of postage expenditures (for example, reports of postage expended by different departments in a company).
However, problems exist even in the most modern postage systems. Large users, who may maintain a number of postage meters at varied locations (often far distant from one another) cannot obtain a single consolidated report from current systems without manually compiling data from individual postage meters and databases. Further, a user whose postage meter data is corrupted or destroyed may be unable to reconstruct the lost postage accounting data.